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RSCAS 2014/01Should Citizenship Be for Sale? RSCAS 2014/01 Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies EUDO Citizenship Observatory Should Citizenship be for Sale? edited by Ayelet Shachar and Rainer Bauböck European University Institute Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies European Union Democracy Observatory on Citizenship Should Citizenship be for Sale? Ayelet Shachar and Rainer Bauböck EUI Working Paper RSCAS 2014/01 This text may be downloaded only for personal research purposes. Additional reproduction for other purposes, whether in hard copies or electronically, requires the consent of the author(s), editor(s). If cited or quoted, reference should be made to the full name of the author(s), editor(s), the title, the working paper, or other series, the year and the publisher. ISSN 1028-3625 © Ayelet Shachar and Rainer Bauböck, 2014 Printed in Italy, January 2014 European University Institute Badia Fiesolana I – 50014 San Domenico di Fiesole (FI) Italy www.eui.eu/RSCAS/Publications/ www.eui.eu cadmus.eui.eu Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies The Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS), created in 1992 and directed by Brigid Laffan since September 2013, aims to develop inter-disciplinary and comparative research and to promote work on the major issues facing the process of integration and European society. The Centre is home to a large post-doctoral programme and hosts major research programmes and projects, and a range of working groups and ad hoc initiatives. The research agenda is organised around a set of core themes and is continuously evolving, reflecting the changing agenda of European integration and the expanding membership of the European Union. Details of the research of the Centre can be found on: http://www.eui.eu/RSCAS/Research/ Research publications take the form of Working Papers, Policy Papers, Distinguished Lectures and books. Most of these are also available on the RSCAS website: http://www.eui.eu/RSCAS/Publications/ The EUI and the RSCAS are not responsible for the opinion expressed by the author(s). EUDO CITIZENSHIP EUDO CITIZENSHIP is part of the European Union Democracy Observatory and publishes two kinds of working papers: (1) peer reviewed and previously unpublished manuscripts on topics of citizenship laws and policies covered by the observatory and (2) collections of edited contributions to EUDO CITIZENSHIP Forum Debates. For more information, visit our website at http://eudo-citizenship.eu Series editors: Rainer Bauböck (European University Institute, Political and Social Sciences) Iseult Honohan (University College Dublin, School of Politics and International Relations) Jo Shaw (University of Edinburgh, Law School) Maarten Vink (University of Maastricht, Department of Political Science) The views expressed in this publication cannot in any circumstance be regarded as the official position of the European Union. Abstract On 12 November 2013 the Maltese Parliament decided to offer Maltese and European citizenship at the price of € 650,000, but implementation of the law has been postponed due to strong domestic and international critiques. On 23 December, the Maltese government announced significant amendments, including a higher total amount of € 1,150,000, part of which has to be invested in real estate and government bonds. Several other European states have adopted ‘golden passport’ programmes. Should citizenship be for sale? In November 2013 EUDO CITIZENSHIP invited Ayelet Shachar of the University of Toronto Law School to open a debate on these controversial policies. Twelve authors have contributed short commentaries, most of which refer to the initial law adopted by the Maltese Parliament. An executive summary by Rainer Bauböck provides an overview over the main questions raised in our forum. For further information on investor citizenship programmes see Jelena Dzankic’s EUDO CITIZENSHIP working paper on the topic and consult the news section of our observatory. Keywords Citizenship acquisition, investor citizenship programmes, European citizenship, commodification, Malta. TABLE OF CONTENTS Summary: Global, European and National Questions about the Price of Citizenship Rainer Bauböck ................................................................................................................................... 1 Dangerous Liaisons: Money and Citizenship Ayelet Shachar .................................................................................................................................... 3 Cash-for-passports and the end of citizenship Peter Spiro ........................................................................................................................................... 9 Citizenship for those who invest into the future of the state is not wrong, the price is the problem Raul Magni Berton ............................................................................................................................ 11 The Price of Selling Citizenship Chris Armstrong ................................................................................................................................ 13 Global mobility corridors for the ultra-rich. The neoliberal transformation of citizenship Roxana Barbulescu ............................................................................................................................ 15 The Maltese Falcon, or: my Porsche for a Passport! Jelena Dzankic ................................................................................................................................... 17 What is wrong with selling citizenship? It corrupts democracy! Rainer Bauböck ................................................................................................................................. 19 What Money Can’t Buy: Face-to-Face Cooperation and Local Democratic Life Paulina Ochoa ................................................................................................................................... 23 If you do not like selling passports, give them for free to those who deserve them Vesco Paskalev .................................................................................................................................. 25 Citizenship for Real: Its Hypocrisy, Its Randomness, Its Price Dimitry Kochenov ............................................................................................................................. 27 Trading citizenship, human capital and the European Union David Owen ....................................................................................................................................... 31 Citizenship for Sale: Could and Should the EU Intervene? Jo Shaw ............................................................................................................................................. 33 Linking citizenship to income undermines European values. We need shared criteria and guidelines for access to EU citizenship Hannes Swoboda ............................................................................................................................... 35 Coda Ayelet Shachar .................................................................................................................................. 37 Summary: Global, European and National Questions about the Price of Citizenship Rainer Bauböck* The EUDO CITIZENSHIP forum “Should citizenship be for Sale?” has collected comments representing a wide range of views and some highly original arguments. They can be summarised by distinguishing global, European and national perspectives. (1) Global questions From a global perspective, several authors argue that citizenship has become primarily a resource for mobility. Globalisation has already deeply undermined national citizenship as a bond between individuals and states and the sale of passports is just a symptom of an irreversible commodification of citizenship (Spiro). The primary value of citizenship lies in the mobility rights attached to passports. The high price put by the Maltese Parliament on Maltese passports reflects the instrumental value of free movement rights attached to EU citizenship for the wealthy and mobile global elites. Some authors defend the sale of citizenship by pointing out that it less arbitrary and more transparent than other ways of acquiring citizenship (e.g. Kochenov), while others suggest that giving the ultra-rich privileged access to “global mobility corridors” (Barbulescu) raises concerns about fairness and justice (e.g. Owen). Instead of offering their citizenship for money, democratic states could bestow it on persons who are threatened by persecution or who fight for democratic values as a means of protection or exit option (Paskalev). (2) European questions Several comments emphasize that selling EU passports amounts to free-riding on the shared EU assets of free internal movement and external visa-waiver agreements created jointly by all Member States (e.g. Magni-Berton). Investor-citizenship programmes are, however, not the only instance. Many EU countries offer privileged access to EU citizenship to large populations outside the EU territory on grounds of distant ancestry or co-ethnic identity, obliging thereby all other Member States to admit immigrants from third countries to their territories and labour markets as EU citizens (e.g. Shaw). Since EU citizenship is derived from Member State nationality and determining the latter remains an exclusive competence of Member States, EU law does not provide much leverage against either the
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